This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Descriptions of two separate and biologically unrelated projects are supported by this equipment, i.e. gene expression profiles in nematodes with enhanced synaptic connectivity, and gene expression profiles in osmotically upshocked E. coli cells. Both studies include the use of DNA microarrays, a device that has recently come into common use. Microarrays are a powerful genetic tool, but the validity of microarray data is not universally accepted and publication in peer-reviewed journals often requires of said data via real-time PCR. Application of the real-time PCR cycler extends beyond the two projects described in this proposal.